Molded plastic golf club head



G. G/OQUIST MOLDED PLASTIC GOLF CLUB HEAD Aug. 10, 1954 Filed March Patented Aug. 10, 1954 UNITE-D gs'mrss MOLDEDIPLASTIC GOLF CLUB HEAD George G. -0'quist ;-Chicago, 111., assignor to Plastic :Golf Products, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation ,ofillinois Application March 11, 1948, Serial No; 14,202

duction of a golf club head of the type commonly termedw0ods due to their usual wooden -construction; which may be constructed of suitable plastics or the like, and at the sametime produce a club head having desirable weight, 1 balance and feel characteristics of a club head constructed of Wood.

Anotherobject of the invention is the production of a golf club head of the WOOd type adapted to be constructed of molded materials, which is simple inconstruction, "relatively inexpensive to manufacture and very attractive I in appearance.

A further object of the invention isthe production of such a club head whereinthe appearance of the hitting face may be readily varied, at-the same time permitting the use of a single orcstandard club head body, whereby a variety of difierently appearing club heads may be pro- :.duced; all of-whichemploy the same body de- :sign,

A further object of the invention is the production of a'novel'golf club: head which in its wxfinished form is-substantially'an integral unit, izeliminating substantially .all screws and other possibly removable parts and in which stresses applied to the club face are distributed among portions of thebody-member of tliehead. i nMany otherobjects and advantages of the 'sconstruction herein shown' and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

:I To this end my inventionconsists in the novel -.=construction, arrangement andcombination of parts-herein shown. and described, and =more particularly'pointed out inthe claims.

i In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding. parts:

-Fig. 1 isa front elevational view of a club head embodying the present invention;

Fig.2 is va sectionalview-taken approximately on .the line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. .3 is atop plan view of theclub head illustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig.4 is a sectional View taken approximately on .the line 4+6 of Fig. 3.

The present invention contemplates .the use of "a wood type club" head constructed of suitable plastic or other materialwhich-may be readily molded, wherein the body portion of the head is provided with a cavity which opens on theiaceside of-the head and is closed'by a cover or closure membenthe outer face of which forms, ineffect,-the-l1itting face of the club head.

* Referring to the drawings, l indicates generally the bodyportion of a club-head-having an upwardly extending shaftreceiving hosel 2 integrally formed therewith,- the-body portion i--being-constructed of'suitable plastic material or the like which may be 'readilymolded to the 10' desiredshape; and as such plastic or molding materials normally have 'a greater density than that of the wood commonly --used inmanufac- "turing such club heads; provision is made for changing and/or equalizing the weight characteristics of the molded head with that of the wooden head: This is accomplished by proyiding-the-body I with a cavity 3, the latter in the present instance, for the purposes of illustration, being shown as more or less cylindrical in formthe side walls in the present instance taperingoutwardlyslightly to provide sufficient draft during the molding operation.

The open end of the cavity 3 is closed by a cover or closure member or insert 4, *the'outer face 5 of which formsa part of the hitting face oithe-club'headw As illustrated iri- Figs. 1-, 3

- and 4, the member 4 is positioned in acomplementary recess 6 inthe body 1 adjacent the open end of the cavity 3. 'The-rearwall of therecess 6 is substantially flat and-the side walls thereof flare outwardly as indicated at 8 in Fig. 3.-

Likewise, the top and bottom walls of-the' recess 6 may be-flaredoutwardly.- Itwill thusbe apparent that compression stresses on the closure member 4 resulting from-the' hitting of a ball "will be transmitted-from the-member i to'the top; bottom'and sidewalls of therecess'fi as well as to therear wall '1' thereof; thereby effective- 1y distributing impactstresses to the various portions of-the-body I.

- If desired. the face of the club head-mayalso beprovided with an insertll'positioned in a vertically extending" channell2 in the member 4 and an aligned channel I3 in: the-adjacent up- 45- per portion of the body 1. The closure mem- -"ber.4:and the insert ll- 'may. be formed of any suitablematerial; as for: example; moldedplastic or'the like and arerigidly: secured to the body i by aplastic solvent-"cement, or other wsuitablemeans. JIhe face". 14 of thei-insert ll forms the normalballzengaging portion of the club head, and it'will be apparentcthat, if desired, the.insert llnand grooves. l2 and l3-may be-omitted, whereby the. face... of .the closure member 4 will form the'normal ball engaging 3 surface of the club head. It will be noted that in the construction illustrated, stresses are trans mitted from the insert H to the member 5 and in addition thereto, some stresses are transmitted directly to the body I at the engagement of the insert with the rear Wall of the channel [3.

Embedded in the material forming the body 1 of the head is a sole plate 16 having a shank ll extending upwardly therefrom at the heel end of the club head, the shank ill having a bore l8 therein axially aligned with the bore it of the hosel 2. Assuming a hollow metal shaft 2i is employed the latter may be provided with a solid end member 22 rigidly connected by any suitable means to the adjacent end of the shaft 2?, the member 22 having its free end thereof threaded as indicated at 23 and engageable with cooperating threads 24 in the bore 18 of the shank ll. socket thus formed by a screw 25 threaded into the shank i7, and the threaded end 22 of the shaft. The toe end of the sole plate It is rigidly secured to the body I by a projection 26 extending inwardly from the sole plate 16 and embedded into the material forming the body l. The projection 26 may be provided with a transverse aperture 21 therein adapted to be filled by the material forming the body I during the molding operation, or equivalent interlocking means thereby firmly anchoring the projection and sole plate It to the body is. It will be apparent that with the present construction, the finished club head is substantially an integral unit which is very durable in use and in which attaching screws for the various parts such as the sole plate 16, etc. other than the locking screw 25 are eliminated.

While the closure member 4 may be of any suitable size and shape, I prefer to construct the same of a size to provide substantially the entire hitting face of the club head as this construction provides maximum strength and durability and at the same time enables variations in the club face to be readily and inexpensively made. It will be noted that by the use of this construction, including the use of the insert ii, various scoring designs, etc., may be produced in the club face and the face of the insert without changing the construction or design of the body 1. Thus, the appearance of the club may be readily varied by providing a plurality of closure members and inserts, the faces of which are scored or otherwise designed to provide different ornamental effects, any of the various members being adapted to be assembled with the same body portion. This feature is of particular importance in the manufacture of club heads, as each manufacturer of golf clubs may have his own particular design for the club face, and in manufacturing differently appearing club heads only one mold is required for the body of the head, the various different effects being achieved solely by employing different combinations of closure members and inserts. Obviously, the cost of producing a number of differently designed closure members 4 and inserts H particularly with respect to the molds therefor, will be considerably less than the cost of producing several different bodies I, and the molds therefor.

The size and shape of the cavity 3 may be readily varied as desired, whereby the same sized club head may be produced with different Th shaft 21 is rigidly locked in the 4 characteristics, resulting from such variations in the shape and size of the cavity 3.

It will be noted from the above description that I have provided a novel golf club head which may be readily constructed by common molding processes, which head may be designed to give pre-determined characteristics, likewise, that I have provided a novel golf club. head construction which is relatively simple, very durable in use, and in which various ornamental effects may be readily and inexpensively produced.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a molded golf club head of the wood type, comprising a body portion shaped to form a hitting face for the club head and a hosel portion, said body portion provided with a recessed cavity extending from the hitting face of the club head for changing the weight characteristics of the molded golf club head to that of a similar wood type, a closure member for the recessed cavity, said closure member complementally formed to the recessed cavity for insertion therein, and with a surface of the closure member opposite to that complementally formed to the recessed cavity providing the hitting face of the club, whereby upon assembly of the closure member within the recessed cavity and afiixing thereof to the body portion, the hitting face of the club head is formed.

2. As an article of manufacture, a closure member for a molded golf club head having a hitting face and including a body portion formed of a moldable material and provided with a recessed cavity extending from the hitting face of the club head, said closure member complementally formed to the recess of the cavity of the body portion for adherence within the recess, and an outer peripheral face of the closure member upon assembly within the recess providing the hitting face of the club head and completing the contour of the golf club head.

3. As an article of manufacture, a closure member for a molded golf club head having a hitting face and including a body portion provided with a recessed cavity extending from the hitting face of the club head, said closure member complementally formed to the recessed cavity for adherence within the recessed cavity, said closure member formed with a recess and comprising an insert complementally formed to the recess of the closure member and afiixed therein, an outer peripheral face of the insert for forming a normal bal -engaging portion of the hitting face of the club head, and said outer faces of said closure member and insert therefor for forming the hitting face of the club head, the outer peripheral surfaces of the closure member and insert also completing the contour of the golf club head upon affixing the closure member and the insert therefor within the recessed cavity.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Thompson Dec. 11, 1906 5 Hubbard July 15, 1924 Heller Dec. 18, 1928 Smith June 24, 1930 Schavoir Jan. 12, 1932 Thorpe Feb. 9, 1932 10 Number Number Name Date Balch June 28, 1932 Simonton Aug. 29, 1939 Theibault May 21, 1940 Chapman June 11, 1940 Kearsley Nov. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain A. D. 1910 

